Monday, July 16, 2012

Last week's treat.


Last week’s treat

Married just a few days, my step- daughter and her new husband sweetly interrupted their honey moon to drive over from Ilminster to take us out to lunch.  After a glass of champagne (except for our noble driver) we repeated our last successful visit to The Smugglers at Blue Anchor.  The happy pair had bright, shining, identical gold rings which they had had made from a very wide gold ring.


They appreciated the excellent food and also the ancient tomes on all the window –sills in the pub.  The weather was warm and sunny so we had coffee in our garden and I took some photos.  There was a beautiful one of the three of then but MTL refuses to appear on the blog.  Happily the bride and groom gave their consent.


J came up with a pleasing solution for my defunct fountain.  Nothing happens when I switch on the switch in the sun room.  I had an electrician call but he said he couldn’t fix it – possibly because it meant digging up the garden.  Now it just fills up with rain water and looks unattractive.  J’s idea is to empty it – of course - and fill it with various stones and rocks.  This idea appeals to me as I have a small collection gathered from my travels.  It should be quite easy to add to them and fill the basin.  Then all sorts of exciting things could happen. There is a lot of seeding goes on in the garden.




19 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello Pat. The sound of running water in a garden is lovely, but in our experience these things are very high maintenance, and not practical in our pocket handkerchief size garden. However your fountain looks a very handsome one, although even without it, I'm sure you've had the sound of running water in your garden a good deal this summer!

Pat said...

Mike and Ann: it was fun while it lasted.
And correct we have had deluging from the down spouts:)

GYPSYWOMAN said...

i like the idea of the rocks and stones from your travels, but i also see beautiful plants overflowing / cascading from your fountain - such magnificent grounds you have! just beautiful! ;)

Rog said...

It's a lovely fountain, particularly with the patio, statue and bench. A pity you couldn't get a wind or sun powered supply for the pump so it would then work free in sunny and windy weather.

Macy said...

Have you photoshopped the refusenik MTL out of the picture?
Very impressed with the result!

Pat said...

Gypsy: I'm sure some sort of plant will be involved.

Rog: a boy I was at school with said - when he saw it for the first time - that I had ideas above my station!
A nature powered pump would have been great. It always felt a bit off switching the power on.

Macy: no that was really a twosome.
At least I can send it to the children. The 50 plusses:)

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Love that idea of the Rocks and stones...And the "living" Surprises that will come from that....
Sweet lovely couple....! I wish them well!

Mage said...

What a wonderful visit with a great fountain solution too. :)

Pat said...

Naomi: I think I shall ask anyone who visits to bring me a pebble or
a stone.

Mage: we were lucky with the weather too. A rarity these days.

angryparsnip said...

I love the idea of stones and plants but...
I am not sure why the electrician couldn't fix it.
First you check to see if the pump is working
Check the two boxes where the electrical wires connect, they can shake lose
Check to see if your wires are "Hot"
Split off the "Hot" wire install a new switch run a new wire to the fountain, minimal digging up of garden....
WaaLaa
But what do I know ?

cheers, parsnip

Pat said...

Parsnip: I remember when the original electrician showed me where he had buried the pump Praying it would never go wrong. We have had years of a working fountain and I am content now to eschew the water cycle and make a feature of it. And feel a bit greener:)

Pearl said...

They sound like a lovely couple.

I like the rock idea, having a love of rocks myself...

Pearl

Eryl said...

The idea of filling it with rocks is super, and you could have alpine plants too, billowing over.

Nice to see the happy couple.

Vagabonde said...

I have been on so many trips lately that I am again way behind in reading my favorite blogs. It’s not too late I hope to give you all my sincere congratulations for being the runner-up with your book and beating 5000 other contestants – that is not a small achievement! I liked your pictures of Bath. I have nice and sad memories of Bath. I went there, alone, in 2002 to celebrate my birthday. I bought a CD of the string quartet. I had stopped in London on my way to Paris to visit my mom. She died several months later. Your pictures makes me homesick for England – I told my husband we need to stop on our way to France next year. Your fountain is lovely and will be lovely with or without rocks. You could always use it as a bird bath - clean the water once in a while.

Pat said...

Vagabonde: thank you for your nice comment. Re the competition - I now await the next step with a mixture of hope and caution. I hope - like me your sad memories will eventually be replaced by the happy ones.
The only birds interested in the water seem to be pigeons who just sit and stare at it. My next unenviable task is to empty it.

LL Cool Joe said...

How about drilling some holes into it and filling it with plants and stones? Some trailing ivy would look good too. We have a large pond in our sunken garden and I'm wondering whether to get rid of it and do something similar myself.

Pat said...

Joey: the drilling holes is a good idea - whatever I do - because it always fills up with rain water.
I'll be interested in what you do with your pond.

Nea said...

What a lovely idea, putting stones in, but also getting guests to bring you a stone when they visit. We have several stone collections both inside and outside, I often take a stone or two home as a memento from a walk on a beach or in the mountains.

Pat said...

Nea: Ooooh that's reminded me to ask my next guest for a stone.